Some teachers don’t just teach a subject, instead they teach you how to learn, how to handle a challenge, and how to believe you’re capable even when something feels hard at first. That’s exactly what my eighth grade Spanish teacher, Señora León, did for me. I still remember how rigorous her class felt in middle school. It honestly shocked my classmates and I at first, because it was more intense than all of our other middle school classes. But as we talked, it became clear w

When I think back to seventh-grade Honors Math, I don’t just remember the numbers on the board or the feeling of trying to get an answer to finally work out. I remember Ms. Bryson, a teacher who made math feel like something you could understand, not something you were either “good” or “bad” at. Ms. Bryson is now retired, but after talking with her, it’s so clear that teaching was never just her job, but it was who she was as a person. During our interview, Ms. Bryson laughed

Sixth grade is already a year full of transitions, but taking life science during the height of COVID made it even more surreal. Classes were on Zoom, cameras were often off, and school felt distant in every sense of the word. Yet somehow, in the middle of all that uncertainty, Ms. Schueth created one of the most memorable, exciting, and genuinely joyful classes of my entire middle school experience. Even through a screen, her “classroom” felt alive. From the moment you logge